


Six Days At The Bottom Of The Ocean

by hurtcomforts (metalocalarp)



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, First Kiss, Flashbacks, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, also implications of galra!Keith, but like only if u squint
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-15
Updated: 2016-07-15
Packaged: 2018-07-24 04:22:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,669
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7493640
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/metalocalarp/pseuds/hurtcomforts
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>you're made of galaxies,<br/>i am a shooting star.<br/>you didn't mean to find me,<br/>i didn't mean to fall.</p><p>(or, in which lance is nearly almost dead but not quite)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Six Days At The Bottom Of The Ocean

**Author's Note:**

> okay, so this is my first actual contribution to this fandom, so this is more for practice with these characters than anything else, but i hope you enjoy regardless!
> 
> (thanks to star for being my beta on this & the sin fam for putting up with my incessant talking about this fic. title is inspired by "six days at the bottom of the ocean" by explosions in the sky.)

“Paladins,” Allura’s voice was steady as she gestured to the large star map, her hands moving to guide the image of a large spherical shape into focus. “We’ve traced the ship’s location to this relatively secluded base present on a small moon in orbit above a gas giant.” The soft blue glow of the image illuminated her features, settling gently in the creases around her eyes. “How long they will remain there is unknown, but it is our only window of opportunity. It is imperative that you stay focused--all of you.”

She paused and turned to face the Paladins, whose gazes trailed upwards towards the map. Shiro was the first to speak. “So, how exactly do we plan on getting in and out of there undetected?”

Pidge curled their fingers around their chin as they studied the image of the large, murky planet. “Well, if we hide the castle near this part of the giant--” They paused to point at a specific spot on the image. “I could take us down in the Green lion while she’s cloaked.”

“Us?” Hunk interjected.

“Yes, us,” Pidge restated. “Given the circumstances surrounding this mission, I think that the less lions we take out there with us, the better off we’ll be.”

“That makes sense,” Shiro murmured in agreement. “Then what’s the plan once we’re down there?”

“Take out the patrols and find ourselves a way into the ship,” Pidge responded. “I’ll be staying outside for when you need a pick-up.”

“That settles it, then. Let’s be on our way. We’ve no more time to lose.” Allura turned back to the console and collapsed the image of the star map. As she began to move the castle into a wormhole, she cast one last worried glance at the Paladins over her shoulder. Shiro was going over the plan again with Pidge and Hunk, saying something along the lines of _we should be prepared for anything._

Coran followed her gaze from his position against the window. He moved forward to place a comforting hand on her shoulder. “Don’t worry too much, Princess,” he reassured her softly. “Why, they’ve been on rescue missions like this plenty of times!”

“I know, Coran,” Allura sighed sadly in response. “I know this should be just like any other rescue mission--but it’s not. It’s much more dire, and they all know that. It’s one of their own this time.” She watched solemnly as the Paladins dispersed before turning her eyes forward and piloting the ship into the open wormhole. Shiro glanced out the window of the castle as it passed through the wormhole. His gaze passed across the perimeter of the room before landing finally on Lance. The Blue Paladin had hardly spoken since they had returned from their unfortunately unsuccessful mission, and hadn’t uttered a single word during the briefing. Tension was visible in the way he held himself, furrowing his brows above closed eyes and crossing his arms as his back leaned against the wall. Shiro moved toward him. “Lance,” he started cautiously. “You okay?”

Lance opened his eyes as he pushed himself off the wall, clenching his fist as his arms uncrossed. Shiro frowned. This was out of character, especially for Lance. Especially given the circumstances of their situation. He spoke suddenly: “We’ll get him back, right?”

Shiro was taken aback by how quiet Lance’s voice was. Everything about Lance’s demeanor was loud, energetic, excited. His question now sounded vacant, hollow, empty, everything that was...well, not Lance. Shiro nodded stiffly. “Yeah, of course we will.” He turned his mouth up in a smile that he hoped would come off as reassuring on the receiving end. “We’re going in there for Keith, and we’re going to get him back. I promise.”

A faint smile played at the corner of Lance’s lips. “Good.” He moved away from Shiro in a tense silence before pausing before the open door and looking back over his shoulder at the older Paladin. “Because I’m not coming out of that ship until we find him.” His expression was filled with something--maybe sadness, maybe hope. Maybe something else.

He moved forward, and the door shut softly behind him.

* * *

 

Alarms blared throughout the cockpit of Blue, flashing red and ringing in Lance’s ears as he attempted to regain control of his lion. _Damn it, they knew we were coming this time!_ The lack of Galra ships in orbit when they had arrived above the planet should have been the first sign that something wasn’t right, but no one had bought into that notion except for Keith. Now, tumbling in circles through space with little to no control over his trajectory, Lance had to grudgingly admit, listening to Keith would have been the right way to go.

Keith. He was always blaming Keith.

 _“Hey, Lance, you look like you’re having fun out there.”_ Speak of the devil.

“Not now, Keith!” Lance shouted through his helmet’s comm. Had he been in a more desirable situation, Lance would have been willing to bicker with him a lot more. He could feel Blue’s tumbling slowing to stop, though, and focused his attention back on regaining control.

Keith’s only response was quick laugh as Lance finally pulled up and brought his lion into a stable position. Now that the stars were no longer spiraling, he could see the Red Lion evading a small group of Galra fighters before turning and shooting back at them. Lance was prepared to fire back another comment at Keith but was stopped when Allura’s image flashed up on the screen in front of him.

 _“Paladins!”_ The image of Allura shook as the castle took a few more hits to its particle barrier. _“We can no longer continue our advancement on the supply ships. Return to the castle as soon as you can!”_

 _“What?”_ Keith’s responded in confusion. The fighters exploded around him. _“Why retreat when we could form Voltron and finish the mission?”_

 _“Well, that would be the best course of action in any other situation.”_ Lance could hear Coran’s voice through Allura’s transmission. _“However, I’m afraid the castle’s defenses won’t be able to withstand much more firepower. What’s more, the ships we had come here looking for originally appear to have already descended onto the planet’s surface.”_

Allura’s stricken expression confirmed Coran’s statement. _“Even if you all were to form Voltron and take out the ships up here, Keith,”_ she continued, pausing as the castle was hit yet again, _“we would not be able to complete the mission without getting ahold of those supplies. I’m afraid we have no choice but to depart.”_

 _“Understood, Princess,”_ Shiro spoke firmly, though his tone was laced with threads of disappointment. Allura nodded briskly before her image disappeared.

“What was that about, Keith?” Lance questioned as he turned to maneuver his lion towards the direction of the castle. Keith’s lion moved quickly out of his frame of vision. “Weren’t you the one who felt that something was up from the start of the mission?”

 _“That was before all the other Galra ships showed up,”_ Keith retorted. _“Something just felt off--I had no way of knowing it was an elaborately planned diversion!”_

 _“What really doesn’t make sense is how they knew we were coming here in the first place,”_ Pidge interjected after having been silent for quite some time.

Lance considered this for a moment before Shiro responded. _“Well, the people we were getting those supplies for in the first place are still living on a Galra-controlled planet. If any of them were captured or questioned…”_ He trailed off, leaving his thought unfinished before stating, _“Fear is a powerful motivator.”_

 _“Hey, guys,”_ Hunk said. _“Did anyone else notice that the Galra aren’t sending out any more of their fighters at us?”_

 _Damn it._ Hunk was right. The Galra hadn’t made a move on any of them since Allura had told them to return. The ships just sat there, silent and unmoving in the vastness of space.

Lance tightened his grip on the controls. Something wasn’t right here.

 _“This is just weird,”_ Keith muttered, putting Lance’s thoughts into words before he himself had a chance to. _“They could take us out at any moment while we retreat to the castle, but they’re just...sitting there. That doesn’t make any--gaah!”_ Keith’s statement was cut off abruptly, replaced with a cry that startled the rest of them. Lance’s heart climbed its way into his throat.

The voices of the other Paladins swam their way through his head in unison, their muddled chorus consisting often of “Keith!” and _“What happened?”_ and _“Are you okay?”_ and _“Talk to me!”_ Lance was now finding it difficult to keep his grip on the controls. Keith was the last person he thought would warrant this kind of response from him, and yet here he was, speechless and shaking and all he could think was, _Why him? Why now?_

 _“I’ve lost control of Red!”_ Keith sounded frantic in his response.

Lance bit down on his lip and grabbed at the controls, turning sharply to face behind him. He caught a glimpse of the Red Lion caught in the tractor beam of a nearby Galra ship. _He’s so close,_ he thought, and before he could fully register the thought, he was moving. _I can get him out of there._ Ignoring the shouts of his name, Lance sped up.

 _“Lance, what are you doing?”_ He heard Keith’s voice but refused to stop. _He was so close…_

Then they launched the fighters.

The Blue Lion stopped short. There were so many of them, tens, maybe hundreds. Lance’s heart sank in his chest. This had all been planned from the start.

 _They’ll come after you, too,”_ Keith spoke again, his voice quiet and only slightly less strained. _“Just go, you idiot.”_

Lance shook his head despite knowing that no one could see him. He couldn’t--he wouldn’t--leave one of his own behind. Not here, not now. Not ever.

Not Keith.

The fighters were everywhere now, attacking from all directions. Time was short, and Keith knew it. _“You’re not going to make this work, Lance. Just GO!”_ Lance jumped slightly at what he presumed was anger before swerving to avoid the oncoming fighters. He spun around and weaved his way through the mess of laser fire, choosing to evade rather than take on the absurd amount of enemies.

 _“Lance!”_ Shiro’s voice rang clear through his comm. _“What happened? Are you alright?”_

Lance shook his head again. He had left Keith behind. Lance had left him behind when he knew he had been capable of getting him out of there. He was so close…

He left him behind because Keith had told him to.

_Keith._

He was always blaming Keith.

* * *

 

Lance peered out the window of the Green Lion as it descended toward the pale surface of the moon. He tried to pinpoint where exactly the ship was, but it was difficult to maneuver himself around the small cockpit, especially when it was filled with three other people. Their lions weren’t exactly built for the purpose of hosting company, after all.

“I still don’t get it,” Hunk mused to the left of Lance. “I mean, they set us up with the supply ships, that much is obvious. But they could have easily taken more than one of us into that ship. Why just Keith?”

“I don’t get it either,” Shiro murmured with a shake of his head. “But the sooner we get in there and find him, the sooner we can answer the questions.”

They settled back into silence as the Pidge landed the Green Lion landed behind the bulk of the Galra ship. “Good luck,” they said, offering a thumbs up as the others exited the lion and stepped onto the moon’s surface.

“Coran and Allura are still trying to pinpoint Keith’s exact coordinates,” Shiro spoke over his shoulder as he began to cut a hole in the side of the Galra ship with his hand. The metal fell away soon after, and the trio stepped inside the dimly lit hall. “They’ll transmit them as soon as they can. In the meantime, we should split up. One of us is bound to be close to Keith by the time we know where he is. Once we get him back, we can regroup here.

“Lance, you take the right path,” he continued. “Hunk, come with me until we reach another split.” Shiro shared a knowing glance with Lance, who nodded briskly before racing down the right corridor. He clenched his fists around the handle of his bayard as he wove his way through the hallways. _It’s my fault he’s in here in the first place, and I’m not going to leave without him._

* * *

 

Keith pressed his back against the wall and sank down into a sitting position. His fingers curled into fists before he swung out swiftly with his right arm, slamming his clenched hand against the metal behind him. The action did little to ease his conflicted emotions.

The room they had thrown him in was too small, too dark, too suffocating. It wasn’t like the castle, where he could roam around freely if the situation called for it, or like the desert, where he could gaze up at the familiar constellations if he ever needed to keep himself grounded. No, this place was a box. A cavern. A tomb that immortalized the ghostly words that had been spoken to him among his arrival.

_You will soon become aware of your potential here._

There was a Druid on this ship. Although Keith hadn’t seen or heard from them since he was forced into his cell-like room, the voice that had greeted him was one permanently etched in his mind.

_What potential?_

Any further thoughts of the subject were immediately dispersed as the door in front of him exploded. Keith rolled quickly to the side to avoid the debris and peered at the figure that entered the room. “Lance?”

“Shiro, Hunk, I’ve found Keith,” Lance spoke breathlessly into his comm as he moved forward extended a hand out towards Keith. “Where’s your bayard?”

Keith pulled himself up with Lance’s help. “It’s in my lion. I left it there when they came in to take me.” The two of them stepped out into the hall and began moving, Lance following in Keith’s footsteps.

“Slight change of plans,” Lance continued to talk through the comm as they maneuvered their way through the monotonous hallways of the ship. “I’m leaving with Keith in the Red Lion.”

“You don’t have to come with me,” Keith protested.

“Hey, I’m the only one of us who has a bayard right now!” Lance retorted.

Keith sighed slowly. “Keep your guard up. There’s a Druid around here somewhere.”

“Nothing we can’t handle.” The corner of Lance’s mouth turned upwards in the slightest of smirks before it was gone, a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moment in time. Keith found himself staring and turned away quickly, hoping that the dim purple lights of the Galra ship could hide the flush in his face.

“This way.” They turned the next corner and found themselves in a large room, a place that probably only felt so large due to the complete lack of sentries in sight. Lance felt a brief moment of uneasiness pass over him before his eyes settled on the shape of the Red Lion in the far corner.

Keith frowned. “I didn’t think an escape would be this easy.” The lack of sentries on their way to the Red Lion, the complete absence of military personnel anywhere near one of lions...something wasn’t right. He saw a flash of something--a shadow--in his peripheral vision and his eyes widened. “Lance, watch out!”

Lance barely had a moment to react to the Druid’s sudden appearance before he saw the blinding purple flash. It struck out at him, colliding with his right side in a burst of pain. Time seemed to cease for a long second before he felt himself fly across the room and into the wall, dropping his bayard as his back collided harshly with the surface. His body slid limply to the floor and sent a new flourish of pain throughout his limbs.

“Lance!” Keith called out after him, ducking to avoid the Druid’s next attack and rolling away to the side. He risked a glimpse to his left. Lance’s frame was still and unmoving, his uniform looking torn where the Druid’s lightning had struck. Keith’s breath caught in his throat. _He doesn’t look good._

As the Druid came around for a third attack, Keith moved quickly to the left before stepping backwards and rolling away to the right. The energy of the Druid’s lightning shook the ground beneath him. Keith fell on his back as the Druid came towards him, ready to strike. A sudden blue-white flash caused them to turn their head away and allowed Keith an opportunity to dodge out of their immediate range. The Druid let out a loud cry before disappearing in a shadowy blur, mere seconds before a laser bullet would have pierced through them.The blast collided with the opposite wall, leaving large cracks that spiderwebbed their way out from the impact point. Keith turned back in the direction of the blast just in time to see Lance crumple to the floor again, his bayard reverting to its weaponless state.

Once the Druid had failed to reappear after a few seconds, Keith pushed himself up and ran to where Lance’s body lay. His felt his heartbeat increase as he knelt down beside the other Paladin and removed his helmet, which had been cracked during his collision with the wall. Keith turned him over to assess the extent of his injuries. _Damn it._ The right side of Lance’s flight uniform was torn open, revealing a colorful patch of burns and bruises along his ribcage. If it looked this bad just from the outside, Keith didn’t even want to begin to contemplate the extent of the internal injuries. He folded his knees and brought his hands around Lance’s shoulders, bringing his head to rest on top of his legs. His hands were trembling; comforting others had never been one of his strong points. Lance’s breathing was shallow, his olive skin was unusually pale, he just looked so _lifeless--_

Lance’s eyelids fluttered softly as a quiet cough wracked his frame. Keith kept his arms around Lance’s shoulders, steadying him. After a moment, Lance’s eyes opened slowly and met Keith’s worried gaze. His mouth turned upwards in something that resembled more of a grimace of pain than the smile he was aiming for. “Like I said,” he breathed softly, his words quiet and hollow, light enough to be carried away on the desert winds Keith could remember but always tried his hardest to forget. “Nothing we...couldn’t...handle.”

Keith closed his eyes and shook his head. “You idiot.” The words held no malice, just an overwhelming feeling of loss. Keith could have sworn the wind picked them up, too. “You didn’t have to come with me.”

“It...would have been...you...instead,” The breaths between Lance’s words were fragile, shaken by the pain within his skin.

“I don’t want to hear that excuse,” Keith responded, his voice saturated with emotions he didn’t even begin to know how to vocalize. “You absolute idiot.”

Lance responded with a choked laugh that sounded so unlike himself Keith nearly started screaming. This should not be happening. A small trail of blood ran from the corner of Lance’s mouth down the side of his face. Had that been there before? Keith didn’t know. Lance’s foggy gaze stared up at Keith’s own eyes, two vast oceans of indigo he could drown himself in. Lance noticed the way Keith’s hair framed his face like a painting, accenting the smooth curve of his jawline and highlighting the slight pink tone of his lips.

He’d never looked at Keith this way before.

Lance inhaled sharply before lifting his arm to Keith’s face. If Keith was confused or bothered by his actions, he didn’t show it. Rather, he met Lance’s glassy eyes with his own intense stare, not willing to break whatever connection they currently possessed. Ignoring the slow ache that crept along his hand, Lance traced his fingers along the side of Keith’s face slowly before trailing down his jawline and cupping his chin between his thumb and forefinger. He hesitated for a moment, glancing between his hand’s position and Keith’s gaze, before inching his thumb upwards to brush against Keith’s bottom lip. For a brief moment, all the pain seemed to subside.

The moment didn’t last very long. Lance’s hand trembled before he surrendered to the ache in his wrist, dropping his hand back to the ground. He broke his gaze with Keith, eyelids fluttering shut as he rolled his head to the side. A soft groan escaped his lips at the movement.

“Hey,” Keith said, trying to keep the underlying panic from creeping into his tone. He could still feel his skin tingling where Lance’s fingers had been. “Come on, stay with me, buddy.” He glanced over at his lion, then back down at Lance. “We have to get out of here.”

Lance mumbled something inaudible as he shifted in Keith’s arms, leaning his weight on his right wrist in an attempt to hoist himself into a sitting position. Pain exploded across his ribcage and he gasped sharply. Black spots dotted the corners of his vision as he fought for air.

“Lance,” Keith breathed, trying to ignore the rapid pace of his own heartbeat. _He can’t walk like this,_ he realized suddenly. He had to get Lance to the Red Lion somehow...Keith swallowed thickly as an idea came to him. He slid his legs out from beneath Lance’s head and wrapped his arm around his back, scooping up his discarded bayard. His hand brushed against the frayed edges of Lance’s suit as he pulled him up from the ground, trying his hardest to keep pressure off of his ribs. Keith swing Lance’s left arm around his own shoulders and placed his hand on top of his, his heart sinking at Lance’s groans of pain. “Sorry, buddy, just hold on a little bit longer.”

Keith inched toward his lion slowly, Lance’s weight resting heavy against his side. He gripped the other Paladin’s hand tighter, determined to keep him rooted in the present moment.

“Keith…”

“Don’t talk.” Keith moved at a steady pace, closing the distance between them and Red much faster than he had anticipated. _They were so close…_

Keith’s heart stopped at the sound of rapidly approaching footsteps behind them. A quick glance over his shoulder told him all he needed to know. So there are all the sentries we hadn’t seen before. Keith quickened his pace, hoping he wasn’t causing even more harm to Lance’s already excessive injuries. They reached Red as the Galrans opened fire, running up the ramp and into the cockpit in the nick of time. Keith slid Lance off his shoulders and propped him up against the wall. He cursed silently at the fact that there was no secure place to keep Lance in this situation.

Keith turned and picked up his helmet from where it lay on the floor when the soldiers had come to take him in. He placed it over his head. “Shiro? Pidge!?”

 _“Keith?”_ Pidge responded after a moment. _“What happened? Where’s Lance? Shiro and Hunk couldn’t get in contact with him!”_

“Lance is injured. His helmet’s been damaged,” Keith spoke quickly as he fired at the sentries. The floor around them was left with a scar that had a faint orange glow. “I need an extraction near the front of the ship.”

_“I’m on it.”_

Keith kept firing at the Galran soldiers, keeping his lion as steady as he could with Lance on board. He knew he couldn’t keep at this forever when he noticed the hole being blasted in the side of the ship and a flash of green. Keith turned quickly from the oncoming gunfire and out of the hole, smiling at the sight of the Green Lion.

 _“Good to have you back,”_ Pidge said, a smile in their voice. Keith followed the Green Lion’s path back to the castle, glancing back at Lance’s body. The Blue Paladin had long since surrendered to unconsciousness. Keith sighed. “You’re gonna be okay,” he said aloud, more for himself than anyone else. 

* * *

 

The healing process was much longer this time around.

Keith wasn’t fond of seeing Lance in these healing pods, a peaceful expression worn on his face like a delicate porcelain mask. However, despite the uneasiness, Keith found it comforting to just be in the same room as Lance. He’d began to fall asleep next to the pod when the shadows in the darkness of his own room began to look too much like that of the Druids.

Therefore, it wasn’t all that strange for Keith to wander his way to Lance’s room once he had recovered. He stood stiffly at the door for a moment before knocking lightly and entering after a quiet "Come in."

“Couldn’t sleep?” Lance asked, peering up at Keith through the faint starlight. Keith shook his head and remained where he stood, unsure of what to do. Lucky for him, Lance either didn’t notice his awkward stance or didn’t care to point it out as he gestured to an empty spot near the foot of the bed. Keith moved to sit down, letting a moment of silence pass between the two of them.

Keith finally broke the silence. “Do you...remember anything?” he asked cautiously, glancing over at Lance. “After you found me, I mean.”

“Hmm… I think you cradled me in your arms again? What did you say it was--a boding moment?” Lance’s response was accompanied by an over-exaggerated wink and a soft chuckle. Keith watched the way his smile made the skin around his eyes crinkle. _He’s...really pretty when he smiles._

Keith retaliated with a smirk of his own. “So you do remember that?”

“Nope, not at all,” Lance responded, his light tone replaced with something more somber. He fumbled with his hands as his eyes met Keith’s again. “But you never seem to forget.” Keith’s breath caught in his throat as he turned his gaze downward, suddenly very aware of how warm his face was.

“Although,” Lance started again, prompting Keith to glance back at him. Lance was closer than before, his eyes darting between Keith’s own eyes and his lips. He seemed to hesitate for a moment before extending his hand out, fingers lightly grazing Keith’s face. “I remember reaching out to you like this.” Lance’s hand moved to cup the side of Keith’s face, his thumb brushing the corner of his lips.

Keith could hear his heartbeat pounding in his ears as he watched Lance move closer. Lance’s half-lidded eyes darted down to his lips one last time before he finally closed the distance between them, and his lips were on Keith’s.

It took a moment for the reality of the situation to settle in, before Keith could think of anything besides the fact that _holy shit, this was actually happening, he was actually kissing Lance._

Keith had little experience with kissing, Lance could tell that much from the way his lips didn’t quite know what to do. They didn’t synchronize well, but it didn’t matter, because it was Keith.

When they finally pulled apart, Lance was flushed was flushed and breathless. He opened his eyes, smiling to see that Keith looked the same. “That...what?” Keith stumbled along his words as he tried to get his bearings. He met Lance’s eyes.

Lance closed his eyes and laughed, genuinely laughed, for the first time in a few days. “What did you say it was, again?” He opened his eyes to meet Keith’s, indigo depths filled with more wonder than each new constellation in the cosmos.

“A bonding moment.”


End file.
